News From CCF-LA | March 17, 2022 |
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Our Charitable Giving Can Build A Better And More Just World.
In the suffering of the people of Ukraine, we find common ground in serving the social needs of all people. We cannot take freedom for granted, nor can we take healthcare, education, housing, food and practicing our faith for granted. Our clients, through their funds with us, are helping to provide these basic needs through grants to churches, homeless shelters, food banks, Catholic schools, and many charities aligned with our faith that are bringing hope to those most in need.
From a multi-million-dollar grant to provide Catholic school tuition support for poor families to a $250 grant to a food bank, each grant means something very special to the client and the beneficiary. And each grant works toward building a better and more just world, while improving the quality of life for all that benefit. As a Catholic community foundation, the heart of our mission will always be driven by the values of our faith.
In this month’s letter, it is appropriate to address the humanitarian charities that receive grants. Their names are too many to be listed in this newsletter, but the link here (2020 ASA) is to our 2020 Annual Statement listing the 186 names of our beneficiaries that received 398 grants. Our 2021 report is in progress and will be released in April with the names of the 223 charities that received 528 grants from us in 2021.
Over the past seven years, our Board, staff, clients, and beneficiaries built our Catholic community foundation in southern California to serve not only our local populations, but those across the country and in a few cases around the world. During this time, almost $1 billion in charitable funds were entrusted to us to manage for individuals and organizations, we granted out $270 million, and ended last fiscal year with $614 million in assets under management.
If you want to help the people of Ukraine, below are links to important charities working with this humanitarian crisis.
It is our privilege to provide professional philanthropy management services to our clients and to make grants that improve the lives of the people that benefit from charitable giving.
Please donate here:
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Kathy Anderson
President and Executive Director
Catholic Community Foundation LA
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To Feed, Serve and Walk
with the Poor.
St. Francis Center’s mission in Los Angeles is to feed, serve, and walk with the poor as a community of hope. In the spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi, Fr. Hugh Noonan founded St. Francis Center (SFC) in the early 1970s and began serving coffee and doughnuts and distributing clothing to the poor and homeless. Since then, we have expanded to be much more than a soup kitchen or a food pantry, adding programs to educate and empower our guests to break the cycle of poverty and improve the quality of life for our neighbors and friends.
One hundred percent of the two distinct populations SFC serves – individuals and families with children – are unhoused or extremely low-income. On average, families in our programs make only $14,000 a year, well below the federal poverty level. SFC has responded to the needs of this vulnerable population with an on-site commercial kitchen and dining room where unhoused guests are provided with warm meals and sack lunches six days a week. We offer a shower program and weekly laundry services to our guests.
A large percentage of those served at SFC are undocumented, and as they are not eligible for government assistance, programs like ours are the last resort for basic needs. SFC offers a weekly food pantry service with three satellite pantries, and pop-up pantries organized on an “as needed” basis in food desert communities. All our programs and services are made possible through the generosity of people who see the extreme need in our community and want to contribute to the solution.
In 2021, the need in our community continued to increase greatly, and with it, the need for support. We are so grateful for everyone who donated, volunteered, and supported St. Francis Center last year. We still have much more work to do to improve and support the lives of our guests and our community.
Jasmine Bravo
Executive Director
St. Francis Center
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Congratulations Maggie Byrne! |
We are very happy and pleased to announce that Maggie Byrne has accepted the recently open position of Head of Development. Maggie has been with the Foundation since October 2021 in the role of Development Director, and previously worked in development, law and finance. Maggie is a licensed attorney with a JD from Santa Clara University Law School, and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Arizona State University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. Maggie is part of the storied Byrne family of Los Angeles, and practiced law between 1995 and 2012, before switching careers and entering the development world, first with the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles, later working with American Martyrs Catholic School, Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego, and lastly with St. Frances X. Cabrini where she served as the Director of Development. Prior to entering the legal profession, Maggie was a Financial Supervisor and Operations Manager for Baxter Healthcare with a responsibility for oversight of over 25 employees. She is a dedicated Catholic, and actively works with her parish (American Martyrs) to help support her community. We are excited that Maggie is joining our leadership team in this important position – she is both a team player and a team builder.
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From The Family Office:
In my role at CCF-LA, I work with families to ensure that their granting needs are met promptly and fulfill the family’s philanthropic goals.
For this newsletter, I want to emphasize that grants made by our Family Office clients support the social and economic issues of our local communities and beyond.
This past month, we made grants to Homeboy Industries, Catholic Relief Services, Dress for Success, and many others that reflect the missions of charities that are closely aligned with our Catholic vision to respect life, eliminate poverty and break down barriers that divide people in the large, complex and multicultural society in which we live.
Our Family Office grants also go to support education, especially at Catholic schools that serve the poorest communities – education is an important gift that leads the way to a successful life.
Kara Duncan
Senior Manager
Family Office
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From The Development Department:
CCF-LA has many clients that serve the social and economic needs of people. Notably, Catholic Charities, St. Francis Center (featured in this newsletter), Mission Doctors Association, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Arbor Family Wellness Village, and many more. I would like to focus on our newest fund: The Agape Fund supporting the Down syndrome community by funding research, education and community programs that make our world a more inclusive place for all.
The Agape Fund was formed from the belief that we oftentimes learn the greatest lessons of life from the most unlikely of places. The fund advisors, Johnny Byrne, my son, and Ryan Parks along with their friends participate in athletic events to raise funds and awareness for many causes that support Down syndrome children and their families. Johnny’s work is done to honor his brother, Thomas Byrne, to enact changes that are needed in this world, especially inclusive education and work programs and research, all of which are vastly underfunded.
Maggie Byrne
Head of Development
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From the Desk of the CFO
The financial markets continue to remain volatile during these very uncertain times. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and concerns surrounding the impact on the global economy and capital markets triggered the global equity market selloff to continue in February. The S&P 500 Index fell 2.99% in February pushing year to date losses to 8.01% and the MSCI EAFE index fell 6.52% so far this year. The Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index declined 3.25% in the first two months of 2022.
As for as our specific returns, the Balanced Pool portfolio returned -1.84% in February and -5.98% for the first two months of calendar year 2022. The Intermediate Fund pool returned -1.25% for the month and -3.22% for the year. The current yields on the STIF and Cash accounts remain at 0.02% - 0.05%.
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Andrew O'Boyle
Chief Financial Officer
and Treasurer
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From the Desk Of Our General Counsel |
Cybersecurity Risks In Times Of War
The Russian invasion of the Ukraine raises awareness that warfare is not limited to troops on the ground, missiles in the air, or warships on the seas. Countries now engage in cyber warfare to avoid having to use traditional war tactics. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) issued a warning of the risk of Russian cyberattacks to US financial networks, in retaliation for the sanctions imposed by the United States against Russia.
CCF-LA takes these cyber risks seriously. As managers of over $600 million in agency and donor funds, we have a fiduciary duty to our clients to protect these funds from cyber-attacks. Our data protection efforts are in place to ensure that our clients and grant beneficiaries will be available to securely access these funds for their programs and operations.
A data security firm as been retained by CCF-LA to put the most up to date data security protocols in place with stringent data protection practices. CCF-LA works with each outside vendor to ensure that they also have robust data security protocols.
Today, CCF-LA has created a security mindset with its employees. We have enabled multifactor authentication, patched old vulnerabilities, ensured strong passwords, and constantly test staff for phishing attacks. Each of these gives us confidence that we are protecting our clients with the best tools at our disposal.
T. Mathew Hansen
General Counsel and
Senior Director of Operations
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CCFLA SUPPORTS CARDINAL’S AWARDS DINNER
The Catholic Community Foundation of Los Angeles showed its support for the Cardinal’s Awards Dinner (CAD) beneficiaries and honorees on Saturday, February 26, 2022.
After a 2-year hiatus, we were back at the Beverly Hilton, where Archbishop José H. Gomez thanked this year’s honorees for their invaluable and selfless service in the performance of acts of charity for the good of the whole community. The following extraordinary Catholics were honored for their exemplary deeds: Kenneth Lund, Kathleen Duncan-Luten, Stephanie & Peter Nolan, and Thomas Romano.
The beneficiaries of the fundraising dinner were the Catholic Charities Food Bank of Santa Barbara County and the St. Francis Centers of Long Beach and Los Angeles, both of whom we gratefully support as clients of our Agency Fund business. It was very clear that Catholics have answered the call for help during these challenging times and have stepped up to serve hope for the homeless and marginalized sectors of society. CCF-LA is honored to be part of this crusade to serve those who have less in life in line with our mission to make a difference.
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St. Patrick's Day
Celebration with the "Unfriendly Sons"
Don Bosco Technical Institute, an all-boys Catholic high school in Rosemead, hosted the 11th annual “Unfriendly Sons of St. Patrick Celebration” on Sunday, March 6, 2022. Bosco Trustee and CCF-LA board member Bishop David O’Connell was a co-chair of the event which raised a record $190,000 for tuition assistance and other programs.
The friendly evening including musical performances, a live auction, and a heartwarming interview with a Bosco Tech senior reflecting on his time as a student. Matt Moreno attended on behalf of CCF-LA, a sponsor for the event, and hosted Bosco counseling and development staff at the foundation’s table. Bosco Tech has been an agency client since 2019.
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The Catholic Community Foundation of Los Angeles empowers charitable individuals and organizations across cultures and generations through professional philanthropy management solutions that allow clients to develop and sustain their philanthropy in support of Catholic values. |
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